Editors

The National Constitution Center recently asked for The Chopping Block to tackle a very prickly issue… The Second Amendment. The challenge was to somehow illustrate the controversial amendment in a way that simply speaks to the amendment’s meaning. Taken directly from the ratified document:

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Considering that the controversy surrounding this amendment has been ongoing for well over 40+ years, it seemed fitting that some kind of struggle should be depicted in the illustration. Initial sketches simply flanked the terms “militia” and “individual” which are the two terms that truly provide the ambiguity in the amendment which arguably has become the focus of all such public discussion. The added entanglement of the revolutionary and modern firearms with the very banners that are displaying the two terms really says it all… without taking any sides.

The Second Amendment on display at the National Constitution Center

Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center is proudly displaying a copy of the Bill of Rights this fall as a part of an Exhibition titled, Constituting Liberty. Shown above is a detail from the show where illustrations for each of the 10 amendments that were commissioned are being displayed and explained.